Children's pocket money

[Maisiepaisie]

I need more opinions - What is an appropriate amount for a 14 year old boy? I currently give my son £10-15 per week but my partner thinks thats too much. I reckon most kids get at least that much. Am I right?

[cookey]

It depend what the money is for?
I give my girls £1 for the 8 year old and £1.50 for the 10 year old. As they get older it will probably rise by 50p a year. But then I buy them everything they need - so this is for things on top of that or if they want to save up for something. It's really to get them to understand about saving up and money. I wouldn't expect them to pay for going to the cinema or swimming or something out of this - not that we do these things often! Nor is it reliant on them doing jobs around the house - because they have to do these anyway - even if I withheld their pocket money.
I think as they get older, I would encourage them to get a job if they wanted lots of spending money.
I just googled and found this: http://www.raisingkids.co.uk/fi/fi_27.asp

[KcCrash]

I think that's ok. I used to get about £7 a week at that age, and that was good few years ago so reckon it's relative.
When your partner thinks its too much, where is he getting that opinion from? Do yuo know anyone with a son of a similar age who you cold ask?

[mariana]

That sounds about right to me. When I was around that age I think I got $10-15 a week, so accounting for inflation and exchange rates I think it's around the same as what you're giving your son. I guess it does depend what he's spending it on. When I was 10 or so my mom came up with a very elaborate allowance system designed to teach me about how to manage money (I think she read about it in a book or something)--I was required to donate 15%, give 15% back to her as "taxes" (lol), put 20% in savings, and then could spend the remaining half as I pleased. It sounds like a funny system, but I think it actually did help me learn about managing money.

[RebeccaDye]

I'd say that's a generous amount - I got £20 a month at 14.
And now at 16, I get the lower end of the amount your son does; £40.
Most of my friends got around that much too.
Mariana that system sounds good!

[mariana]

It was always pretty funny turning around and paying back some of the money to her in taxes, but I think it really did help me grasp the concept at a young age. :)

[KcCrash]

I'd say that's a generous amount - I got £20 a month at 14.
And now at 16, I get the lower end of the amount your son does; £40.
Most of my friends got around that much too.
Mariana that system sounds good!

I agree it does! Wonder where she got it from.
I was only allowed pocket money up to aged 15 though. At taht age I was able to hunt out my own money by doin chores. I had a paper round, though my mother was on a diet so she often did it for me for the exercise and I got the £!

[bradders]

in my case I found having a set amount and having to use it for some of my food, all of my transport, cinema, everything like that. Really gets you to think about budgeting properly as when it's gone it's gone, also about having enough saved for contingency. In my case for a lot of that time I worked for the money (helping out at neighbours farms, pubs and a supermarket etc) but I think the principle applies regardless of working.
Kids working during the summer is good but I'm not so sure about any other time. It means that you get left out of a lot of things that others can go to and can get in the way of study too. At the same time working for your money is character building. I was expected to work to contribute to the household fairly early on and when I was 15 I really had no choice as my mum was off work so had to take time off school to look after her at home and then when my dad got back from a fás scheme (a sort of irish new deal) or whatever labouring he'd managed to get himself that week I'd go into the town and work. It did make me better able to deal with problems as they arise and I'm in now way workshy that said had I not worked and gone to school I would have done better in my leaving cert and gone straight to uni which I would have finished a couple of years ago, as things panned out I had to take my a levels in england (took three years due to illness and work) and now i'm in uni and again working got in the way of studying.
But of course I would do it all over again.

rambled on for ages here, what I think I'm trying to say here is that I think its good for kids to have a fixed amount of money everyweek that covers clothes, cinema and everything like that and that work is character building at the same time I'm not sure that working term time is a good idea.

[Quantum Mechanic]

I never got pocket money until age 17 or 18, as my parents were fairly poor and I can't work. So now they send me money to pay for things like sweatshirts and books and snacks and school supplies.

[veganf]

At that age I got $10/week in high school. When I started college later that year it was raised to $20/week.
My 5yo gets an allowance of $2.50 and 4 3/4yo just started getting $1.50. So imagine by the time they're 14 they'll be getting about the same amount since we plan to increase every year or so by $1.

[snivelingchild]

I got $25 every 2 weeks, from elementary school until senior year. Then I moved out @ 18, and now I get food every time I visit. I vote for delicious allowances! *yum*

[Ruby Rose]

I wish I still got pocket money.

[Agatha]

ha me too! i got £2.50 a week when i was 14 (that was 13 years ago) and that was in exchange for chores. i think the amount you give is fine if you can afford to do and teaching your son the value of money by understanding it doesn't come for free an he has to be responsible with it. when i was 16 i got £20 a month more and was expected to buy all my own clothes, including school uniform with it.

[bradders]

I think the important thing is that the money should cover necessities as that teaches responsibility and budgeting that can keep kids safe from problems that may lie ahead.